Wednesday, August 1, 2012

The Cult of Blood (Southern-Style)

It lurks out there somewhere in the dark - invisible, intangible - waiting for next doomed victim of its rage. It has been at war with humanity since the beginning and will be the author of our ultimate destruction. No one can stand against this monster and no one can escape its wrath unless...unless one covers oneself in the blood of an innocent sacrifice.

This monster is named Yahweh, the god of the Old Testament and the New Testament. And if you think the above paragraph is just so much hyperbole, I invite you to read the Bible and pay close attention to what I'm about to post next.

The central theme of Judaism is that humanity is fallen and Yahweh must have the blood of an unblemished sacrifice to forgive man's sins.

The central theme of Christianity is that humanity is fallen and Yahweh must have the blood of an unblemished sacrifice to forgive man's sins.

In the first case, animals would suffice. In the second, the sacrifice required no less than Yahweh's unblemished son.

Lest you think that these are quaint notions that no longer have any real impact on the faith, let me remind you that Christianity's greatest celebration - the Eucharist or Lord's Supper - is a reenactment of Christ's body being broken and the blood spilling out over mankind. For Catholics, this is literal. For Protestants, it is symbolic. But whether you are a Catholic cannibal or a Protestant pretender, you must realize that the essence of your faith is that you must cover yourself with the sacrificial blood of an innocent victim in order to get a "Get Out of Jail Free" card. For the life of me, I can find nothing decent or moral about such an idea.

This theme is captured and replayed weekly in Southern churches. Most of the hymns I grew up singing were written to celebrate the blood sacrifice made to appease the most bloodthirsty of gods. Here's a sample:

There is power, power, wonder-working power in the blood of the lamb. - Power in the Blood

Nothing can for sin atone. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Not the good that I have done. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. - Nothing but the Blood

There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains. - There Is a Fountain

Just as I am without one plea...but that thy blood was shed for me. - Just As I Am

I heard about his groaning, of his precious blood's atoning... - Victory in Jesus

Alas and did my Savior bleed and did my sovereign die. Would He devote that sacred head for such a worm as I? - At the Cross

A quick search for "blood" on Hymnary.org returns 133 pages of songs about blood and so it should for Christianity is nothing more than a cult of blood sacrifice. And while it might be tempting to think that "Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild" won't hurt your kids, you must realize that your kids are singing hymns about blood sacrifice that tell them they are unclean wretches, worms that deserve death unless they accept the blood sacrifice of another (allegedly) human being. It's right there in the text of the songs. It's right there in the text of the New Testament.

It's time to lay this blood-sacrificing cult to rest. It is a relic of our primitive nature - a time when we thought blood had magic properties and that the gods were as petty and stupid as we were. It's time to let go of Christianity and embrace reality.